Jean-Lou Chameau says universities must reflect the societies within which they exist.The president of Saudi Arabia’s flagship graduate research university has rejected calls for him to condemn restrictions on freedom of speech in the country. Original article by Chris Havergal on www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

Jean-Lou Chameau, the president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, told Times Higher Education that universities had to reflect the societies within which they existed, and that the greatest long-term impact would be achieved by instilling the values of openness and creativity in a generation of graduates.

The former president of the California Institute of Technology was speaking amid continuing international outcry about the imprisonment and public flogging of Raif Badawi, a blogger who criticised Saudi Arabia’s clerics.

In January, 18 Nobel laureates wrote to Professor Chameau, calling for “influential voices” in KAUST to be “heard arguing for the freedom to dissent, without which no institution of higher learning can be viable”.

Some have interpreted the letter, which counted South African novelist J. M. Coetzee among its signatories, as a warning that KAUST could be marginalised by international scholars unless it does more to further freedom of speech.Development and educationBut Professor Chameau said that he had never used his position as a higher education leader to speak out about “political issues”.

“I believe we have to remain focused on developing the university science programme and on educating young people in an environment that is open, diverse and creative,” Professor Chameau said. “It is always easy to criticise organisations or universities, but we have to remember that different parts of the world work in different ways.

“Universities operate in different parts of the world. We have to reflect that we are in a different place; we have to be respectful of others.”

KAUST could have a positive effect in other ways, Professor Chameau continued.

“We have great students with great values,” he said. “They graduate, go out and do great things, and that’s where we have impact.”

Openness and diversity are enshrined in KAUST’s royal charter, established by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, he pointed out.

Researchers are free to publish and discuss their work “as they want”, Professor Chameau said, and KAUST is unique in the country in allowing women to be educated alongside men. On campus, women are not required to wear a veil and are allowed to drive.

Some observers question whether the accession of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, after the death earlier this year of King Abdullah, will lead to the implementation of more conservative education policies, or the curtailment of the scholarship programme that has allowed thousands of young Saudis to study at overseas universities.

Professor Chameau said that he had seen “no sign” of any change in government policy and added that he was proud that 35 per cent of KAUST’s students were women. Having a diverse student body, he said, is “part of the DNA of KAUST”.One thing that seems certain to remain unchanged, however, is the weight of expectation attached to the university.

When King Abdullah founded KAUST, he gave it a $10 billion (£6.4 billion) endowment, with the aim of rekindling science in the Arab world and building a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia.

Having recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, the institution now has some 840 students, 132 academic staff and 401 postdoctoral researchers.

Professor Chameau said he was “extremely pleased” with the calibre of the staff that KAUST was attracting, and said that the fruits of this recruitment were beginning to be witnessed, with more than 4,000 publications having been notched up already.

The university has created 32 spin-off companies, and its researchers are starting to achieve major scientific advances – in desalination, and in the use of the mineral perovskite in solar cells, for example.Holding fire on targetHowever, Professor Chameau declined to reiterate the target set under his predecessor, Choon Fong Shih, for KAUST to be one of the world’s top 10 science and technology universities by 2020.

Professor Shih himself had admitted that this would “hopefully” be the position, rather than “definitely”, before he stepped down in 2013.

“Whatever was said at the time, becoming a destination university, an Imperial College London or a Stanford, doesn’t happen overnight,” Professor Chameau said. “It is based on many years, sometimes decades, of great accomplishments, and what your graduates do. You become great when your graduates go into the world and do great things elsewhere.”

KAUST has faced criticism for not educating more Saudis, with one princess branding it a “disaster”. Currently, about 35 per cent of its students are Saudi, and the figure for staff is similar.

But Professor Chameau said that KAUST was not allowed to exceed 50 per cent Saudi in its student body, in order to provide an international experience. The proportion is likely to grow towards that limit in the coming years, he added.

This is one reason why, when asked if KAUST would launch an undergraduate programme, Professor Chameau replied that this might happen “some day”, but not “right now”. An undergraduate programme would serve mainly the local population and would make KAUST less international than it is now, he explained.

Professor Chameau was speaking at the Times Higher Education MENA Universities Summit, held in Qatar last month.

The Nobel Women’s Initiative has sent an open letter to Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, urging the immediate release of Raif Badawi. Badawi, is a writer and activist from Saudi Arabia and was arrested in May 2014 for creating the ‘Saudi Arabian Liberal’ website for which he was accused of insulting Islam.

The Government of Saudi Arabia sentenced Badawi to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and ordered him to pay a large monetary fine. On Friday, January 9th, the sentenced lashes were carried out and Raif Badawi was lashed 50 times. The lashes are ordered every week on Fridays, for a period of 19 weeks.

A committee compromised of eights doctors have assessed Badawi and find him unfit for flogging and recommend stopping this horrific act. Badawi is one of the many activists in Saudi Arabia who has been persecuted for expressing their views online. Saudi Arabia authorities continue to silence the voices of human rights activists and violate international human rights law.

The Nobel Women’s Initiative calls for the immediate release of Mr. Raif Badawi who was sentenced for exercising his right to freedom of expression on 7 May 2014. We are gravely concerned for his wellbeing and urge your government to take immediate action to stop the flogging that is scheduled to be continued this Friday, and release him unconditionally.

Raif Badawi was convicted of insulting Islam with the creation of the Free Saudi Liberals website. His writing was intended to establish political and social debate in Saudi Arabia. Instead, his views were seen to be suspicious and disrespectful to Islam and its clerics. He was banned from leaving Saudi Arabia in 2008 and a fatwa was put on his life in 2011. Since then, he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a large monetary fine.

We believe that this sentence is unjust and inhuman. Flogging is human torture and thus is a violation of international human rights law, particularly the Convention Against Torture. After a series of tests on Raif Badawi, a committee of eight medical doctors recommended that he not undergo further flogging. This assessment is a testament to the cruelty of such punishment and it must be taken seriously.

This is not an isolated incident. Saudi Arabia has a history of silencing vocal human rights activists who have campaigned through online forums. Restrictions set by the Saudi Arabian government have included arbitrary detention of its citizens, restrictions on the rights of women and travel bans on activists. These tactics of intimidation and harassment are violations to human rights.

As such, the Nobel Women’s Initiative calls for:

- The immediate release of Raif Badawi and the protection of human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia.

- Action to ensure the safety of Raif Badawi including halting further punishment of flogging.

- Protection of all human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia and the commitment from the government to uphold all international human rights laws.

These actions on the part of the government of Saudi Arabia are crucial to setting a precedent of protection for future citizens who carry out peaceful and legitimate work in defense of freedom of speech and human rights. We urge you to take note and action: release Raif Badawi and prevent further violations on his rights and safety.